Community, Excellence, Discipline, Commitment and Humility – these are the five values of the Lion City Sailors FC and they were all on display by the Sailors Academy’s Under-14 Elite team at the recently concluded Asiana Cup 2024.
The Under-14 boys impressed, finishing fourth in the prestigious tournament which was held from October 24 to 27 at the Gelora Bung Karno Madya Stadium and the Senayan Field in Jakarta, Indonesia.
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The eight-team cast consisted of the Sailors, hosts Asiana Soccer School, RC Alcobendas from Spain, Japan’s Cerezo Osaka, Cruzeiro Academy of Thailand, Football West from Australia, Malaysia’s Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) and another Indonesian side TSI Selection.
The Sailors boys kicked off with a match against TSI Selection on Thursday (October 24) and it was not the best of starts as they began with a defeat. However, under the tutelage of Head Coach Ashraf Ariffin, the team turned things around later in the day with a convincing victory against Cruzeiro Thailand.
The following day on Friday (October 25) it was a similar start as the Sailors succumbed to a loss at the hands of Cerezo Osaka despite leading at half-time against the eventual champions.
But it was déjà vu as they again showed their true mettle later in the day with an eye-catching success against Madrid-based RC Alcobendas.
RC Alcobendas had three Singaporean Unleash The Roar (UTR) players in their ranks, but were undone by the Lion City Sailors Football Academy (LCSFA) which notably competed in the Asiana Cup with eight players who were born in the year 2011, meaning they were younger than the stipulated U14 teams allowed for this competition which speaks volumes about the LCSFA’s level of commitment and growth at grassroots level.
“We are proud of how our boys responded to the different challenges in different matches. We knew coming into the tournament that it would be a highly competitive one and we prepared the team in different scenarios and approaches without compromising our academy principles and playing style,” said Head Coach Ashraf.
“Our players have shown that they can compete with the best in the region and they have also shown that they have the intelligence to adapt to different opponents.”
The youthful exuberance of the boys were on full display on Day Three as the Sailors first played out an entertaining draw against home side Asiana in the morning followed by holding Malaysian powerhouse JDT in the afternoon.
On the final day, the Sailors faced Australia’s Football West to determine which team would finish in the top four and it was a dramatic ending, as Tan Yu Bin’s stoppage-time winner guided the Singaporean boys to an outstanding win with the youngsters showing real grit and determination to come back from a goal down.
The three points on the day took the Sailors up to 11 points with three wins and two draws in seven matches as the rising stars went on to secure a fourth-place finish in the standings, five points ahead of strong teams such as Football West and JDT.
Homegrown talent Ahmad Izzan Rifqi Bin Ahmad had a tournament to remember picking up the Top Scorer award at Asiana Cup 2024 having netted seven goals, with his fine displays earning him a place in the tournament’s Best Eleven.
“It means a lot to me to be the top goalscorer of a tournament like this! It was my goal to be the top scorer and I worked hard for this moment. And it became true. Thanks to the coaches for teaching me what a striker’s mindset should be like,” said Izzan.
Earlier this year, the Sailors’ youth teams had ventured into Europe to gain valuable experience in world-class surroundings with those initiatives certainly paying dividends.
In April, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) recognised the efforts of the LCSFA to develop elite youth footballers in Singapore and was conferred the Two-Star Academy status — becoming only the fourth academy in Southeast Asia to receive Two-Star grading.
“The future is the foundation we build now. Our scholars performed well at the Asiana Cup because of the foundation we laid four years ago,” quipped Ashraf.
“At LCSFA, we have shown that with the correct coaches and the correct expertise around our talent pool, we can take a lot of positive steps in the future.”
